


Queen Of The Space Age

by alexVakarian



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Romance, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 12:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20097190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexVakarian/pseuds/alexVakarian
Summary: After taking down the Collector's base and with all issues solved, Commander Shepard had only one week left before heading to Earth to face trials for her so-called crimes, but sometimes only one night with the person you love is all you need to feel everything is worth the effort.





	Queen Of The Space Age

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a Mass Effect Fanfic (although a short one), so tell me what you think of it!

Siha, sometimes the Galaxy can be too ruthless with the very people that keep it from falling apart, with its own heroes that save thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives on their own. The collectors have fallen in the galaxy’s core; Project Overlord? Shut down; Shadow Broker? Defeated, ¿Dr. Amanda Kenson? Killed and vaporized with the mass relay’s explosion, yet it didn’t matter how many threats got taken down, the world of politics is still as Machiavellian as ever, the Batarians wanted human blood to be spilled due to the death of the over 300.000 lives of their own species there in the Bahak system, and the humans who wanted even more to avoid diplomatic incidents had to do something, they could not stand idly without doing anything even though the Systems Alliance military wanted to give a damn medal to their greatest living war hero, a hero who saw crosses grow on horizon, where no soldier sleep and where hell’s six feet deep; that death does wait, there’s no debate; she charged and attacked, she went to hell and back.

She promised to Admiral Hackett that she would surrender herself to the military forces on earth to face the consequences of her cations, both working with the possibly most famous human terrorist organization on the galaxy, and wiping out all life on an entire solar system. All loose ends were tied up, all enemies defeated, and because of it there was only a week of freedom left for her before being put into trial for her “Crimes” and relieved from duty, a last week of freedom before heading back to earth for a trial she knew would not bring anything good, because even if she destroyed the reaper’s shortcut to the backyard of the galaxy, they are still coming to harvest them all.

The Normandy SR-2 even if it was operative for the most part after the reparations done once the crew got back from the Omega 4 Relay, it was still far from being fully repaired, and she needed more than just hand-sized tools to restore the ship to her previous state-of-the-art condition, and this was the excuse all the damn crew needed to take a fucking day off duty, they had just went to the damn galaxy’s core to fight with damned genetically redesigned protheans and destroyed a human reaper to finish the war before it even began, they had no issues left to deal with in the short term, and even if they did not needed a damn argument to do nothing for a day, a well-deserved rest was the thing all of them wanted the most right now, and nobody could ever even hope to change their mind.

Each one of the members of the Normandy crew could defend themselves without problem, so they were allowed to spend the day on Omega wherever they liked before reporting back for duty on the ship and start heading back for the human homeworld. It was evident that soon everything would change radically, and that in the short-term everyone would have to follow their own paths, so these last moments would be something that many of the crew would like to spend with their brother and sisters in arms, Kenneth Donelly and Gabriella Daniels went to the markets in Tuhi District to search for replacements and subtle upgrades for the ship (and spend time together nerd-ing themselves out, too). Mordin Solus went to see once again his apprentice Daniel Abrams to see how things were going on the Gozu District; Garrus went once again to the place where the betrayal took place, Sidonis was dead, eye for eye some people say, but unless Sidonis had a dozen of clones scattered across the Terminus Systems, his death would never fully pay off the deaths of the brave vigilantes who fell fighting against the criminal scum in this rock turned into a space-station. Jack, Zaeed, Jacob, hell even Grunt, all of them were on the Afterlife enjoying some well-deserved drinks; Kasumi, as it couldn’t be in any other way, couldn’t even manage to step in the station before cloaking herself and go out in search of shiny things to borrow from people… permanently, without them noticing. Samara and Legion were special cases, the Asari simply would not step there without hoping to crack down on all crime there, an impossible task in the end; and Legion lacked of the organic interest of being there with no more purpose of watching more organic beings get drunk or high, and thus both of them stayed inside the ship to mind their own business, either meditate or just reach yet another consensus in yet another debate topic for the Geth. And so the crew’s list went on, some drinking and enjoying a few hours of rest, others relaxing on the ship being able to finally take care of things other than the imminent threat of an galactic apocalypse which would come from the center of the galaxy.

But she did not care that all the crew was scattered across all Omega, everyone had earned a well-deserved rest after this journey to hell and back, even her, even the very alliance’s legend had earned a day off-duty to spend it as she would see fit, with whoever she wanted, and right now there was only a single real option for her, a damn green lizard that she was madly in love with, and neither a disease or the reapers could ever hope to change that fact.

–Now that the Collector are no longer a threat, and that you’ll be busy dealing with your diplomatic problems there on Earth, I’ll… be with Kolyat, I can’t allow myself to do the same mistakes of my past, I need to be there for him. –  
–He went through hard times being a kid with practically an absent father, it is evident that correcting that while you can is for the best. – 

She said that while both of them were sitting on a different table, and a bit separated from the crew present on the Afterlife, they did not have a negative reason for that, they just wanted a bit more of privacy while they had some quality time together. Aria T’Loak did not gave a single shit about Shepard or the Normandy SR-2, but since them warned her about the plans of the three main mercenary groups on the station, this Asari would not mind them being around and having some free drinks during the next few hours, for the leader of Omega it was not an economic matter, but one of reputation and personal approval, and the human had Aria’s favor.

–It would be useless and counterproductive to negate reality, it will be hard for me, living a civilian’s life never was my specialty, not even…–  
–It was another artificial night on the Citadel, the skycars plagued the station’s false sky, the chemical aroma was quite pleasant for the smell; I was looking through a window in the apartment, I had just gotten back from my work in construction, the Krogan had been as insufferable as ever, the bills were stacking up, I did not have enough money to cover all of our necessities, my income was not enough to give the dignified life my family deserved and I was still not being able to fit myself in this way of life that was still foreign to me. –  
–Kolyat was already born, I needed to search for another way to give them a good life, to give myself the life I needed. I was not meant for this, to have minor works with low payments, I was raised to be the weapon of the person who contracted me, that was my function for my Hanar mentor, and in the end, I did not know how to be a father. In retrospective it was almost inevitable for me to take this kind of jobs again because of the weapon I am, but I had to pay a price too high for it. –

Thane sights for a second, finally blinking a few times after letting his thousand yards stare point towards the Afterlife’s void, like if he had already finished that lucid memory of his past.

–But thanks for the opportunity you gave to me, I’m more convinced than ever that no matter what pain afflicts either my soul or body, everything was worth the effort. –

He commented as he grabbed the commander’s hand softly, with one hand he grabbed that part of her while with the other he caressed her cheek at the same time his sight connected with hers, making them look each other directly in the eyes.

–I won’t forget what I said to you during that night in your cabin when we were heading towards the Omega 4 Relay, because those words are still true. I’m afraid of dying without fixing all the problems I made to my close ones, I don’t exactly know how much time I have left, in the best scenario it’s a year, in the worst… let’s not talk about it, but I know that no matter how much time there’s here for me, I want to spend them with my loved ones, including you… Siha, not only physically, but spiritually as well. You gave me the chance to fix my relationship with my son Kolyat and I won’t waste it; for obvious reasons I can’t predict what will happen to you back on your homeworld once you go back there, but I’ll make sure to don’t waste my time with self-pity, I’ll deal with all the problems existing between him and me while you are there on Earth, and I know we will see again after that, but if there’s someone who can do anything, that person is you, Shepard. –  
–I won’t deny it, sometimes it’s tough to think about it, I have just taken revenge for the thousands of dead colonist, and saved hundreds of thousands more, yet I have to pay for the consequences of my actions for the sake of galactic politics. – She said.  
–You defeated the Sovereign years ago and now you went to the center of the galaxy to destroy a human reaper, it doesn’t matter what the fate throws at you, I know you will overcome everything no matter how hard some people try to stop you. –

The position of his hands changed as he said his last phrase, his two hands united with hers and his breathing was calm, although by the mouth. For a few seconds they just stared they partner in silence, looking at each other’s face, body, even hands, with even a little smile in the lips of the Commander Shepard, with a quiet little chuckle as a result of the situation, but not in a bad way at all, but because of all the factors added to the very atmosphere that encircled both souls in this precise place and moment, abstracting them from the rest of the people drinking and dancing here in the afterlife, like if in this very moment, only the Drell and the Human existed here.

–Is something happening, Shepard? – Asked Thane while he raised his look to see her directly at her eyes.  
–When I enlisted in the Systems Alliance, when I finally managed to enter the N7 program, I never thought that I would end up in some corner of the Galaxy having a date with an alien after a suicide mission, yet I would not change this for anything in the damn universe, nor I would change you for anything, Thane. –

She let escape a little and soft laugh from her lips before drinking all the liquid left in her glass with whatever thing the bartender served, which he called Weeping Heart, while Thane was okay drinking only a Noverian Rum. Once both glasses were lying empty on the table, both of them stood up, the alcohol in their veins already made quite an effect (even if barely noticeable) on their bodies, but that’s what they wanted after all, a hug is what they instinctively sought without saying a single word, like if both souls were communicating in silence, letting them feel each other’s warm and texture in a complicity as romantic as both of them wanted it to be right now.

–Let’s move a little bit, I have betters plan for you that involve more than just sitting in that table. – Said the human with a quite unusual sensual voice tone while she started to walk towards the dance floor while subtly inviting with one hand his Drell man to join her.  
–I hope that your moves are getting better, because if the Collector couldn’t take me down, your dance moves will. – Commented while letting a laugh come out of his mouth as a way to keep the implicit existent happiness between both of them.  
–Not funny. – 

Once they got there, they moved with notable agility between all the persons present on the dance floor until they could find a perfect spot for both of them so they could keep enjoying the night (or day, it is hard to define it when you’re on a station with artificial light the entire time) after reaching a perfect spot. Her arms were over the Drell’s shoulders, with her hands encircling the alien’s neck while both of them let people surround them who also wanted to dance a little bit to forget for a while their own problems, to spend some time doing things they like and enjoy the night without fear of making a fool of themselves. All the people here had a good amount of reasons to be here, but for the Commander Shepard and the Drell Thane Krios, the only thing that was important right now was the person in front of each other, and nothing else matters.

–I don’t really know what they’ll do to me there back on Earth, in the best case they’ll attack me only for working for Cerberus and such, in the worst I’m accused of war crimes in a martial court for the genocide of 300.000 Batarians and other terrorists acts and I’ll be left to rot in a cell for the next decade. I’m really not fond of the idea of going there to face what they’ll throw at me, but I know what is my duty, and we can’t afford a war with the Batarian Hegemony after all, and less with the reapers coming, but… – She sighs and slowly her eyes shifted their direction towards the table, Shepard knows that no she’ll face another war, but one against her own leaders, and one in which she has everything to lose, and nothing to win.

–I don’t want this moment, this night, to end. – She said while looking away as a consequence of the sincerity in her words, she was finally able to relax together with the person she loved, and she could do it only for a couple of days before going to her homeworld to face an unfair trial? That was not a thing that could perfectly fit in Shepard’s wish list no matter the context she gets put in.

–I’ll entrust to Arashu for your fate to be in good hands and that you’ll be able to return where people really need you. Where I really need you. With your crew. With me, Siha. But let’s not afflict ourselves due to the future’s uncertainness of both of our souls adrift in the sea of life, if I learned something while being with you, it’s to not live in any time that is not the present, and right now we have each other, that’s what matters right now, Shepard. – The Drell breathed somewhat loudly, but in total peace, while he kept her partner at a very short distance, making him able to immerse himself in the unmistakable aroma of the human he loved.

–I just… have to ask you something. – Whispered Thane Krios while looking directly at her eyes  
–Whatever you want, Thane. – Answered the Commander Shepard in a voice that was just as lost as her look in the eyes of the Drell

He was extremely close to the face of hers, both bodies feeling the contact of each other, his arms in the Commander’s waist, and hers surrounding the assassin’s neck, their eyes in mutual contact, and their lips slightly opened, making their breath to mix in the tiny space that separated one mouth from the other, and letting that image of them in silence last for a few seconds before saying a couple more of words.

–Shepard… be alive with me tonight. –

And right after finishing those words said like a soft whisper headed towards the ears of his partner, he decides to send straightly to hell any kind of worry, any kind of problem, anything that would torment anyone of them and he unites his lips with hers in a kiss of low intensity, although lasting for many seconds while both of them closed their eyes, a simmered kiss that what they wanted the most in this precise moment, for their souls to feel finally connected and reciprocated during this peaceful night on Omega.


End file.
